Abel: Wilton 'turned off mic' to talk, rues Palmeiras defeat

In partnership with

Nosso Palestra

·19 October 2025

Abel: Wilton 'turned off mic' to talk, rues Palmeiras defeat

In a match marked by individual mistakes and refereeing errors, Palmeiras was beaten by Flamengo 3–2 on Sunday afternoon (19) and missed the chance to pull away at the top of the Brazilian Championship. Vitor Roque and Gustavo Gómez scored for the Verdão, while Arrascarta, Jorginho, and Pedro scored for the Rio side.

With the result, Verdão and Flamengo are level on points, both with 61 from 28 matches. Palmeiras remain leaders on tiebreakers — 19 wins to 18.

OneFootball Videos

Speak, Abel!

After the match, Abel Ferreira gave a press conference and spoke about Palmeiras’ performance and the refereeing.

Palmeiras’ performance and refereeing:

— I’m not going to talk about the referee, nor his performance. The incidents are there for everyone to draw their own conclusions. As for the game, we started well from the beginning. On the other side, a team with excellent players, very well coached. The first time they got to our goal, they scored.

— In ten minutes, we had three or four chances, plus a penalty that should have been given, but anyway… We didn’t convert, we conceded. We got back into the game. A team like theirs doesn’t need external factors to get results, but unfortunately in the second half we got into the game late. They were highly efficient. I’m very proud of my team. I want to congratulate Flamengo,” he said.

— I won’t talk (about the refereeing) anymore, I’ve said enough. I’ve been sent off too many times. When I was sent off and got a yellow, nobody talked about the referees. What you said was that the Palmeiras coach was against the referees, that he was annoying. They say I never spoke about the professionalization of refereeing — the footage is out there.

— That’s not my job. We could have scored or not from the penalty that was given. Then, they had a situation they took good advantage of. Then, in my opinion, there’s a foul on Roque that he doesn’t call, and another on Fuchs, where Pedro gains an advantage, but he didn’t see it that way.

He’s the best Brazilian referee. But with Palmeiras — or with me — things haven’t gone very well. He’s sent me off four or five times. The way he spoke to my players… he turned off the microphone.

Match against LDU in the Libertadores

I understand your question, but the game ended 15 minutes ago. We’ll prepare now.

What lessons does Palmeiras take from the game?

— Very proud to play here, at Flamengo’s home. We played on equal terms, created many difficulties, but efficiency counts — our opponent’s efficiency. When they managed to get there, the first chance they scored. That matters a lot, credit to our opponent’s quality. They had a penalty and scored.

Football is made of mistakes — I’m the first to make them. But I’m proud of my team. Honestly, given our preparation, we did what had to be done. We have to move forward.

Defensive errors

It starts with the penalty — it’s true Bruno could have avoided that, but we need to look at the rest. Bruno goes to ground earlier, my player is standing still, and Pedro gives a push and gains an advantage. It’s a play that’s preceded by a foul on Roque, but the referee is the one who decides.

— Murilo was coming off an absurd run of games, and Bruno could give us much more on the ball, and he was in a good moment. I trust all our players. We started the game very well. We could have had a penalty in our favor at the start of the match — but we could have made mistakes too,” he concluded.

What now?

With the result, Verdão and Flamengo are tied in the Brazilian Championship standings, both with 61 points from 28 matches. Palmeiras remain leaders on tiebreakers — 19 wins to 18.

Palmeiras return to the field in the Brasileirão next Sunday (26) at 8:30 p.m. (Brasília time) against Cruzeiro, at Allianz Parque. The Minas side are third, five points behind Palmeiras, but with one more match played — 28 to 29.

Before that, the team plays the first leg of the Libertadores semifinal against LDU on Thursday (23), at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time), away in Quito, Ecuador.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.